806 mWainwright — Western Fells+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud
High Stile is the highest of the three great fells of the Buttermere ridge, and one of the finest summits in the Western Fells.
Summit conditions on High Stile
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 10° to 4°C, gusts to 61 mph, 9.5 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.
Wind on the top
Past the line
64mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour
The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 51 mph times our exposure factor of 1.27. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 61 mph, before any exposure factor.
under 25
25–35
35–45
45–55
55+
The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS (opens in new tab) describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.
Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.
Rain, and the becks
Past the line
9.5mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight
The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.
The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.
Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.
Also checkedcold: feels like 0 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 37 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.
Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.
Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data
Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Choose the way up before the car park: these three routes start from three places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free)
Buttermere village (NT, paid)
Distance and climb
12.88 km, 970 m of climb
12.97 km, 881 m of climb
13.39 km, 1,012 m of climb
Time, fast to steady
~4–5¾ h
~4–5½ h
~4¼–6 h
Scrambling
Hands for a few steps: the red scree up from Dodd to Red Pike, the loose ground on to High Stile, and the high rocky steps down off Seat (km 3.5–5.0 and km 7.7–8.1).
Not mentioned in the route’s notes
Hands for a few steps: high steps onto Seat, and the loose scree up Red Pike (about km 5.4 and km 8.2–9.4). The path to the summit is a steep, loose scramble up this red scree.
Exposure
Not assessed
Not assessed
Not assessed
Navigation
Hard
Moderate
Hard
Steepest stretch
Descent of about 38% at 7.1 km (Severe)
Climb of about 39% at 2.9 km (Severe)
Climb of about 35% at 6.0 km (Severe)
After the summit
Over High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile), High Crag (Buttermere) and Seat
Over High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile), High Crag (Buttermere) and Seat
Over Red Pike (Buttermere) and Dodd (Buttermere)
Walked or planned
Walked by Lee, October 2026
Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start
High Snockrigg (verge)
Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free)
Buttermere village (NT, paid)
Bus to the start
77, 330 m walk from Buttermere Youth Hostel (near). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.
77 at the start. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.
77, 410 m walk from Buttermere, outside Court Hotel. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.
Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.
Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →
Is High Stile hard to climb?
Steep and rough, and the highest point of the Buttermere ridge — but there is nothing on the ordinary line that needs hands. What makes it a serious fell is the northern edge, which falls in crags and combes straight toward Buttermere and Bleaberry Tarn.
Our shorter round with Seat is 13.0 km with 881 m of ascent; the full ridge is 13.4 km and 1012 m with navigation graded hard. The summit area is broad and stony, so in cloud the edge is closer than it feels.
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
High Snockrigg (verge) — at the start of The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise
On the Newlands Pass road above Buttermere village, about 70 m from the Mountain Road junction bus stop. The 'High Snockrigg, Eel Crag & Lad Hows' route starts 60 m away, and 'Great Borne & Starling Dodd' and 'High Stile, Seat via Buttermere' about 210 m away in the village.
Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free) — at the start of High Stile, Seat via Buttermere
Walking base for Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile) and High Crag (Buttermere) — the 'High Stile, Seat via Buttermere' route starts 5 m away. Also serves 'Great Bourne & Starling Dodd'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Buttermere village (NT, paid) — at the start of The Buttermere Ridge
For Red Pike, High Stile, Robinson, Rannerdale Knotts. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).
Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.
Buttermere village (LDNPA, paid) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
The 'Buttermere lake circuit' route starts 49 m away. Also serves 'Crummock Water shore circuit'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Toilets on site. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37311 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).
Rannerdale Knotts, south (layby) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
On the B5289 between Buttermere village and Crummock Water, about 1.1 km north-west of the village. The nearest route starts are in the village: 'The Buttermere Ridge', 0.8 km on foot, and 'Scale Fell and Mellbreak', 0.8 km on foot. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Buttermere from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 15% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
The 77 and 77A stop at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, a 100 m walk from the start of High Stile, Seat via Buttermere — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season.Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Saturday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Sunday 18:20 towards Keswick (77). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.
Notes from the The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise route
The line follows the road for about 0.3 km at the start, down the Newlands Pass road into Buttermere village and along the B5289 past the Fish Hotel, and for about 0.25 km at the end, back up the Newlands Pass road from the Bridge Hotel. OpenStreetMap maps no pavement beside it.
Two stretches are steep and loose. The climb from Dodd to Red Pike is a path of red scree, about 125 m of height between about 3.5 and 3.8 km. The descent from High Crag down Gamlin End is the steepest ground of the walk, about 38% sustained around 7.1 km.
Crags are mapped beside the ridge path on its north side: Chapel Crags between Red Pike and High Stile, within a few metres of the path near 4.7 km, and the crags above Burtness Comb between about 5.6 and 6.6 km. Keep back from the edge, above all in mist or a strong wind.
The line crosses the outflow of Bleaberry Tarn, Sourmilk Gill, at a place OpenStreetMap maps as a ford near 2.7 km, and becks at mapped fords on Scarth Gap Pass near 8.5 and 9.6 km.
About 2.2 km of the line, in pieces, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the longest is about 0.8 km between about 7.25 and 8.1 km, from below Gamlin End over Seat to Scarth Gap. The rest is public bridleways, a permissive path by the lake and the road in the village. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.
If you need to get off (the leg from Red Pike): Going back over Red Pike means going down the red scree; the other way off is on over High Crag and down Gamlin End to Scarth Gap. Do not try to leave the ridge to the north, into the corrie: Chapel Crags are in the way.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches High Stile.
We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.
Navigating in cloud
Severe
Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.
In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.
How High Stile compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).
If you need Mountain Rescue
Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.
Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.
If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.
This walk runs the Buttermere ridge the other way round from The Buttermere Ridge: the red scree below Red Pike is climbed, not descended, and Gamlin End is the way down.
Warnings: The line follows the road for about 0.3 km at the start, down the Newlands Pass road into Buttermere village and along the B5289 past the Fish Hotel, and for about 0.25 km at the end, back up the Newlands Pass road from the Bridge Hotel. OpenStreetMap maps no pavement beside it. Two stretches are steep and loose. The climb from Dodd to Red Pike is a path of red scree, about 125 m of height between about 3.5 and 3.8 km. The descent from High Crag down Gamlin End is the steepest ground of the walk, about 38% sustained around 7.1 km. Crags are mapped beside the ridge path on its north side: Chapel Crags between Red Pike and High Stile, within a few metres of the path near 4.7 km, and the crags above Burtness Comb between about 5.6 and 6.6 km. Keep back from the edge, above all in mist or a strong wind. The line crosses the outflow of Bleaberry Tarn, Sourmilk Gill, at a place OpenStreetMap maps as a ford near 2.7 km, and becks at mapped fords on Scarth Gap Pass near 8.5 and 9.6 km. About 2.2 km of the line, in pieces, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the longest is about 0.8 km between about 7.25 and 8.1 km, from below Gamlin End over Seat to Scarth Gap. The rest is public bridleways, a permissive path by the lake and the road in the village. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.
Its dramatic north-eastern face plunges in a wall of crag and combe — Bleaberry Comb and Burtness Comb — straight down to Buttermere and Crummock Water far below. The summit panorama is superb: the Buttermere valley at your feet, Pillar and Great Gable across Ennerdale, and the Scafells beyond. It is the high point of the classic Buttermere horseshoe with Red Pike and High Crag — a serious mountain day, usually begun from Buttermere village or Gatesgarth. It is rough and rocky near the top, with steep ground on the lake side, so keep well back from the edge in cloud.
Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →
The view from High Stile
The 360° skyline from High Stile
A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.
drag to pan · arrow keys
The skyline as a list, by direction
North: Grasmoor (6 km), Eel Crag (6 km)
North-east: Crag Hill (6 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (16 km), Skiddaw Little Man (16 km), Skiddaw South Top (17 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (17 km), Skiddaw (17 km), Skiddaw North Top (17 km), Broad End (18 km), Knowe Crags (19 km), Gategill Fell Top (20 km), Blencathra (20 km), Atkinson Pike (21 km)
East: Helvellyn Lower Man (17 km), White Side (17 km), Helvellyn (18 km), Nethermost Pike (18 km), High Crag (18 km), Raise (18 km), Dollywaggon Pike (18 km), Stybarrow Dodd (18 km), Catstye Cam (18 km), Great Dodd (18 km), Cofa Pike (19 km), Fairfield (19 km), Dove Crag (21 km), High Street (28 km)
South-east: Great Gable (6 km), Green Gable (6 km), Great End (9 km), Broad Crag (9 km), Scafell Pike (9 km), Scafell (9 km), Ill Crag (9 km)
South: Pillar (3 km), Steeple (3 km), Scoat Fell (4 km), Red Pike (4 km)
South-west: Haycock (5 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (175 km, Ireland), Merrick (102 km, Scotland), Broad Law (109 km, Scotland), Snaefell (82 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (101 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (85 km, Scotland), Corserine (98 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (96 km, Scotland).
High Stile sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (at the September equinox) first light is only 3 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First light
Almanac sunrise
Difference
Midsummer
04:33 BST ±5.0 min
04:38
-5 min
Equinox
06:18 GMT ±5.0 min
06:16
+2 min
Midwinter
08:31 GMT ±5.0 min
08:34
-3 min
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.31°).
Last light — when the sun leaves High Stile
High Stile holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 5 minutes after the valley has lost it.
The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last light
Almanac sunset
Difference
Midsummer
21:58 BST ±5.0 min
21:53
+5 min
Equinox
18:33 GMT ±5.0 min
18:27
+6 min
Midwinter
15:58 GMT ±5.0 min
15:50
+8 min
These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.
What you can see from High Stile
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
72Wainwrights in view+14 marginal
180 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth
On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.
How the view from High Stile compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.
How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed
Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from High Stile. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes.
Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. Corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).
